Trials & Projects.

Current Trails and Projects include:

• The United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)
• United Kingdom Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial
  (UKFOCSS)
• Psychosocial Research Programme
• The Mermaid Project

The United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

The purpose of the study is to determine whether screening will detect ovarian cancer at an early stage when treatment is more effective and therefore reduce the number of deaths due to the disease.

Large studies performed by our research team and other international teams during the last decade were not extensive enough to establish whether the early detection of ovarian cancer actually saved lives. They did establish however, that there are two possible screening methods – a blood test for a substance called CA125 and ultrasound screening of the ovaries.

This randomised trial will take place over ten years and will compare both of these methods of screening in a group of 200,000 women. 100,000 women will remain as a control group and will not receive screening. 100,000 will be screened every year for six years - 50,000 with ultrasound and 50,000 with the CA 125 blood test.

The study will also assess the cost implication of the screening methods to the National Health Service, and the psychosocial arm of the study will assess what anxieties and fears being screened may raise, and what complications may arise as a result of screening.

UKCTOCS is taking place throughout the UK at 13 regional centres who have recruited the women and work in partnership with the co-ordinating centre at the Gynaecological Cancer Research Unit.

At the end of the study we will have robust and invaluable information on how many lives ovarian cancer screening can save.

For more information about the trials, visit the website at www.ukctocs.org.uk 

United Kingdom Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial
(UKFOCSS)

The UKFOCSS is a five-year national collaborative study involving genetics centres throughout the UK. The study is aiming to find out whether screening is beneficial to women who are at high risk of ovarian cancer due to an inherited predisposition or gene mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2.

The study involves 5000 women who have a greater than 1 in 6 chance of developing ovarian cancer during their lifetime. They will have either two or more close relatives who have developed ovarian cancer at any age or breast cancer at a young age; someone in their family who is known to have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation; a family member who has been to a genetic centre or family cancer clinic; or are already having ovarian cancer screening.

Women on this trial will receive annual ovarian screening, including a trans-vaginal ultrasound scan of the ovaries and a blood test for CA125. Three blood samples will be taken every year.

The Psychosocial Research Programme is being run alongside the laboratory research and clinical trials and is concerned with the human needs of women with gynaecological cancers as part of a larger psychosocial research initiative within the Institute of Women’s Health.

The research aims to increase awareness, understanding and appropriate interventions to meet the psychological and social needs of women with gynaecological cancer

Areas of research include a study to evaluate the effectiveness of active, supportive follow up to help women with ovarian cancer deal with their uncertainty and worry once they have completed treatment; gaining in depth understanding of the influences on women’s decision making about complementary treatments, including their relation to conventional cancer treatments and care; and exploring adult daughters’ experiences of their mothers’ death through cancer.

In this programme of research the group will gather information in lots of different ways including interviewing women, carrying out survey questionnaires, psychological measures and hearing women’s views in group discussions. By placing the experiences of women at the heart of their research, the psychosocial group are confident that the work will impact on the future design and delivery of cancer care.

The Mermaid Project

The Mermaid Project is a unique and ambitious research programme with the overall objective of reducing the high mortality rate in women with ovarian cancer. Through analysis of tissue and blood samples the research project will test various hypotheses and develop new methods to recognise the cancer early, which is instrumental in achieving the overriding goal of reducing the mortality significantly. This can only be achieved through a close co-operation of specialists from various areas such as gynaecology, epidemiology, molecular biology and oncology. The Mermaid project is based on such a co-operative network, which will help to ensure that all aspects in relation to ovarian cancer are considered, and also securing the quick dissemination of the research findings and adaptation of these in the treatment of ovarian cancer. The total budget is 20 million Danish kroner and will be financed through donations from individuals, foundations and companies.

For more information visit www.mermaidprojektet.dk